Singing

If you like music at all, take some advice from me and sing whenever you have a chance. It’s good for your soul, whatever that means. I’ve played music for many years, but I recently discovered how much singing affects my mental health. Live shows don’t count, because the crowd and the amplifiers drown you out. Sing when you’re alone in a quiet room, and fill it with your voice. Sing whenever you’re driving alone. Sing at work, as long as you aren’t disturbing anyone who can punish you. Just sing – you can probably play your own vocal cords even if you can’t play another instrument. If you sound awful, don’t worry about it. Nobody is going to harass you for singing poorly in private. Many people are too insecure to try it at all.

I’m saying this because something wonderful happens when we hear ourselves sing. It helps the brain. Matching pitch forces us to listen to the sounds that we produce, and quite possibly to produce sounds that we are not entirely comfortable hearing. This is a good thing! It teaches us to be more comfortable whenever we use our voices, and more confident in general. The sooner you get accustomed to hearing yourself make unfamiliar noises, the sooner you will be able to make noise in public with absolute confidence. Sometimes, that is absolutely necessary. Why not be prepared?